DIAMOND MEMBRANES WITH CONTROLLED STRESS FOR SUBMICRON LITHOGRAPHY

X-ray and ion projection lithography use membrane-based masks for the fabrication of microstructures with linewidths below 0.5 mum. To minim ize pattern distortions during mask fabrication and under operating co nditions, membranes with a high mechanical stability and defined stres s are required. Because of its intrinsic properties, diamond should th erefore be the membrane material of choice. In this paper we demonstra te that polycrystalline diamond membranes with controlled stress can b e produced from chemically vapour-deposited diamond films. The results on properties as well as the compatibility of processing the diamond films with standard lithography equipment encourage the fabrication of diamond-based masks for integration in submicron lithography systems.